Comparative table

Power Structure

Democracy in transformation

Democracy in tension

Democracy in mobilization

Scenario of the decentralization of power and of the questioning of traditional power.

Democracy in agony

Scenario of the predominance of organized crime and violence.

Democratic Institutions and Political Culture

Democracy in transformation

There is a quest to increase the value of politics and improve the capacity to govern with the greatest efficiency and transparency through structural reforms. The goal is a deepening of the exercise of citizens’ rights, of the institutional mechanisms of social participation, and of the fortification of the democratic system through greater inclusion and pluralism.

Democracy in tension

Different phenomena, such as a reconfiguration of leadership in some cases and a caudillist tradition in others, expand the concentration of power, erode institutional controls and checks and balances, generate permanent power disputes, and influence the exercise of democracy.

Democracy in mobilization

Frustration with the traditional democratic model generates a permanent push forward through strategic work in networks, popular pressure and the appropriation of new technologies by citizens, and social movements.

Democracy in agony

An undermining of institutions and a consolidation of governing schemes weaken the ideal democracy in many territories in the region. This is due to the greater sophistication of organized crime to penetrate the state, the outbreak of violence, the growth of corruption, the ability of criminals to operate with impunity, and the attachment to authoritarian solutions.

Civic Participation

Democracy in transformation

Greater incentives, better means of participation, and greater emphasis on educating citizens to rebuild a sense of civil ethics lead to a more demanding electorate, greater levels of participation in the traditional schemes of representation, and a general collaboration between society and the state.

Democracy in mobilization

Factors such as new horizontal cooperation schemes, activism in parallel networks, and the expansion of social movements generate pressure on the state, raise questions about voting as an effective means of influence, and engender more widespread citizen empowerment and collective appropriation of shared interests beyond the traditional representative framework.

Democracy in agony

The citizenry adopts silence, fear, self-censorship, and double standards of morality. Civic values decline in territories and provinces in the region.

Economic Development and Social Inclusion

Democracy in transformation

Alternative models of sustainable development and more effective redistributive politics to overcome the structural challenges of poverty and inequality predominate. These factors lead to greater productivity and higher salaries.

Democracy in tension

Shortsighted solutions and economic efficiency above social justice and environmental equilibrium prevail. These factors impede a more fair distribution of power and income.

Democracy in mobilization

Innovative models, including forms of local economic development that are less dependent on the state and new forms of commercialization based on sustainable and just economic models and on work done in networks, emerge.

Democracy in agony

Given the absence of guarantees for inclusive growth and the inoperability of the redistributive mechanisms of the state, poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation increase.

Regional Integration

Democracy in transformation

Various countries group themselves in commercial and political blocs that insert the region on the global map with greater force.

Democracy in tension

Tendency to shortsightedness, which leads to a slowing down of regional integration and to the loss of competitiveness with other regions in the world.

Democracy in mobilization

Development of new forms of exchange and regional territorial integration and of new agendas for multilateral bodies through the influence of networks.

Democracy in agony

The dynamism and growth of informal and illegal mechanisms of regional integration exceed the slow advance of support for regional accords and shared solutions.